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| Blurry image of Jupiter taken through cloud with three of the four Galilean Moons visible Io was behind Jupiter when this photo was taken |
The life of an ageing British amateur astronomer is one of challenge and tribulation. The weather is always a problem and the aspiring astronomer has always to contend with the British climate. First we have cloud cover which can last unbroken for literally weeks. Second the clouds can provide copious amounts of rain, sleet and snow which are an anathema to electronics. Third astronomers can experience the joys of mist, fog and high humidity which cause lenses and mirrors to dew up.
Occasionally however, we get a clear and transparent night which is ideal for stargazing. Then we have to cope with light pollution from street lights and the well meaning but amnesiac neighbour who forgets to turn off his or her garden lighting when retiring to bed.
After midnight when our Council turns off the street lights and on a clear night, I unpack my scope, eyepieces, cameras and laptop and take out my kit into our garden. Well that is if my back is up to it, if my arthritis flares up, chronic back ache can deter my enthusiasm and cut short a night's entertainment at the eyepiece. Finally; weather, light pollution and health permitting, a night's astronomy can be ruined if my digital cameras, lap top or telescope mount decide to malfunction. I have on at least one occasion got everything set up only to have my power tank battery fail, having forgotten to re-charge it after a previous viewing session!
The other night was clear and transparent and consequently I decided to try to image Jupiter with my relatively untried QHY5v planetary camera. Jupiter was high in the sky and shining bright and steady as I set up my 5 inch refractor on my NEQ6 mount. I aligned my scope, centred Jupiter in a wide-field eyepiece and then connected the camera. An image appeared upon my laptop screen and I adjusted the telescope focus until I had a nice sharp image. I pressed the capture button and awaited developments.
Out of a clear sky, suddenly there appeared clouds everywhere! In the hour I had spent setting up my kit the weather had changed from great to terrible. I managed only two one thousand frame clips taken through intermittent cloud cover and then it rained buckets full of rain. Thankfully Toot came to my rescue by helping me to dismantle my scope and electronics and get my precious astro-kit undercover. Herschel had his sister and I have Toot!
One of the night's compensatory factors was that, before the clouds appeared, I had one of my best ever views of the Great Red Spot (GRS) and it is just visible in the blurry image above.
Hopefully before Christmas, I will get another chance to photograph Jupiter but this time without the clouds and rain!
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